A blog by Kaya Özkaracalar on Disney comics and illustrated story books, concentrating on, 'though not restricted to, the pre-war era

Tuesday, 26 January 2010

FIRST DISNEY COVER IN TURKEY AND OTHER DISNEY COVERS OF AFACAN (2ND SERIES)

Mickey Mouse gag panels had appeared on the covers of several issues of the first series of Turkish children's weekly Afacan (1932-34) but since that publication was of tabloid size, the said panels took up a small portion of the covers' area which they shared with other, non-Disneyic items and thus were not cover illustrations in the conventional sense. The first proper Disney cover of a Turkish publication came with the no. 3, dated Dec. 6th, 1934, of Afacan's 2nd series, whose scan is above. In the central illustration, Mickey is drumming to herald the coming of the holy fasting month of Ramadan. The artist is unknown. The smaller figures at the top of the cover are apparently taken from yet-unidentifed foreign sources (the Horace in bondage figure at the upper left might have been cropped from a panel of Mickey Mouse daily strip continuity from 1931 featuring gypsies).

Despite the full-fledged Disney cover, the contents of the issue in question featured only one Disney comics, a gag from British Mickey Mouse Annual of 1933:

However, in subsequent years, Afacan would serialize several Disney comics, originating from Britain's Mickey Mouse Weekly and at least two issues, no. 19 (Mar. 28, 1935) and 76 (Apr. 30, 1936), would feature covers of British origin, the former the cover of Mickey Mouse Annual of 1934 and the latter the cover of Mickey Mouse Weekly no. 8 (Mar. 28, 1936).

The next Disney cover in Afacan was in no. 134, dated June 10th, 1937, heralding upcoming adventures of Toby Tortoise ad Max Hare:

The art on this cover illustration originates from the cover of the 1935 Frech album Le liévre et la tortue by Hachette. The last Disney cover illustration in Afacan was atno. 204 (Oct. 13, 1938):

And this illustration is from the reverse of the cover of 1938 French album Blanche-Neige et les Sep Nains by Hachette.